The General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques has prepared a comprehensive plan to provide services to an expected three million Umrah pilgrims this year, said Dr. Muhammad Bin Nasir Al-Khuzayyam, the vice-president of the organization. These services will continue up to the first week of September this year, he added, in an interview with Saudi Gazette recently. The presidency has prepared booklets published in various languages to help pilgrims with the Umrah rituals. Al-Khuzayyam said a number of renowned scholars deliver lectures after Fajr and Asr prayers, until Isha, on the Umrah, sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and other important aspects of Islam. A network of more than 150 telephones allows for inquiries about any matter pertaining to the Umrah. Over 4,000 regular staffers, including seasonal staff, are equipped with electric cleaners and compact disposal garbage vehicles to clean the Grand Mosque around-the-clock. There is also technical staff available to fix the machines. Zamzam water is supplied in 25,000 thermoses, with workers to clean and refill them. Hundreds of thousands of sterilized plastic cups are also available. For Tawaf (circumambulating around the Ka'ba) and Sai (brisk walking between As-Safa and Al-Marwah hillocks), 10,000 wheelchairs are available for people with disabilities and the elderly. The wheelchairs can be accessed from earmarked places outside the mosque and on the first floor of As-Safa gate. Automatic wheelchairs can be hired for SR50 for the Sai only. A security force has been deployed to tackle pickpockets and other crime on all four floors. The force is controlled from a central computerized room. Khuzayyam said that with about one million visitors present in the Grand Mosque, 700 staffers are deployed at its 139 gates. One million copies of the Holy Qur'an are being distributed in various languages including Urdu, French, Indonesian, Thai, Spanish, Bosnian, Turkish, Chinese, Somali and Malayalam. In Madina, where the Prophet's Mosque accommodates more than one million worshippers, nearly 3,000 maintenance workers are deployed. A total of 20 tankers supply Zamzam water daily to the Prophet's Mosque, for 4,500 thermoses. __
